That’s right today is Part 3 of Belle and Jacob’s Interview. As yesterday was Sharon & Elias’s final day of written questions (13 pages) today the fun is the last day of Belle & Jacob’s. Now Belle & Jacob didn’t have as many questions, their interview was only 7 pages long, mainly because I hadn’t read the book while I was asking questions. Needless to say Elias was asking if I somehow got a sneak peek at Letters before it was ready.

Those questions have been set aside for the books that follow. 😉

PART 3!!! BELLE & JACOB INTERVIEW

T: Have you thought about staying in the service and making it a career?

J: I’ve thought about it Teresa. It really depends on what happens during my tour of duty. I know a lot of guys will be released from the service, after the war is over. If I make it a career, it has to be something I feel very strongly about, but more importantly, a decision that Belle and me make together. It will affect her as much as me and I have to be sure that she wants that for our family as well.

T: How has the war changed you?

B: It’s made me value life so much more. Time if fleeting and memories are precious and we should never take anything for granted. So many people of this generation, take so much for granted in this great country of ours. Jay and I still don’t have a television set or a new car, but that’s ok, because we have each other and that’s what matters most. Although, I did hear Jay tell my dad, he was thinking of getting us one next Christmas. I’ve only watched a few television programs at a friend’s house and I really enjoyed it.

J: Now that I’m in the Army, it’s made me see things a lot differently. Like Belle said, I stopped taking for granted, that things were going to go the way we wanted. What we thought would happen, has been drastically different. Listening to the news announcers talk about how the war is going in Korea and having so many friends I went to High School with, already serving and a few I know who aren’t coming home again. Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael, down the street from us, just had a visit from the war department. Their son was killed in action, fighting the R.O.K. ARMY, street to street in Seoul Korea. They gave them the news on their doorstep. The family went into deep mourning. About a week later, a letter came for them from John’s platoon leader, Mathew Finnegan. He felt it was his duty to explain to them what happened to their son and how heroic he was. They were pinned down by a sniper and John had gone out to draw his fire, while the platoon marksman, tried to locate him and take him out. John, was coming from behind cover and signaled to the men behind him, when a single shot rang out and John fell back behind the hill he was hiding behind. The platoon opened fire in the direction of the shot and actually killed the sniper, then ran over to check on him, but he was already deceased.  That’s how the war has changed me. I don’t take life for granted and just like that, I know I could be John, on my way to St. Peters gates.

T: Belle, since Jacob left for basic does it scare you when you see anyone in uniform going up to your neighbors doors?

 B: I’ve been fortunate that I haven’t seen that and I hope I never will. Jacob, told me someone he knew a guy in the Army, who actually saw that happen to one of his neighbors. He said there were two officers in uniform, who knocked on door informing them their son had been killed in action. I can’t even imagine such a thing. I have to have faith, that God won’t let that happen and he’ll keep Jay safe from harm.

T: Knowing you’ve lost friends and buddy’s do you feel lucky to have each other through the chaos?

J: Belle, is my anchor to what’s waiting for me at home. I travel into the darkness because that’s what I’m called to do, but I know that home and hearth are waiting for me. What more could a person ask for, then to have the love of his life, waiting for him with open arms, when things are tough.

T: Belle, do you feel like being Jacob’s anchor puts you under pressure?

B: I don’t. I love Jacob so much and I always want to be here for him, for whatever he may need. He’s told me often, I’m the reason he gets through each day and without me, he’d be lost. I sometimes wonder if him having to worry about me, might be really hard for him sometimes. I mean, here I am at home, safe and living my daily life and Jacob may not come home ever again. So, how could I ever feel like that’s pressure, when I can’t imagine a day I’d ever say I can’t do this anymore.

T: Did you ever feel like not telling each other about what you were going through, while Jacob was gone?

 B: I did, but then I remembered my promise to always be open and honest with him, never holding anything back from him no matter how hard it was to tell him.

J: I did, but we promised we would share, as much as the sensors would let us in our letters. Sometimes, it’s hard to talk about reality, but at the same time, I don’t hold anything back from Belle.

T: Well, Belle and Jacob, that’s all I have for you today. Thank you again for joining me.

Thank you so much for having me and Jacob (My little snookem bear joke) we really enjoyed talking to you.

Letter’s Away Interview Part 1

Letter’s Away Interview Part 2

Letter’s Away Interview Part 3

Letter’s Away Interview Part 4

Letter’s Away Interview Part 5

Belle & Jacob Interview Part 1

Belle & Jacob Interview Part 2

Stay tuned this weekend starts the Live Interviews. You don’t want to miss those!

Letters Away Release Party January 21st

About the Authors:

Sharon Johnson

From the time Sharon Johnson learned to write, she had one dream, to become a writer and author. Writing has always been the one constant through every moment, both good and bad, in her life. She started with basic Haiku and rhyming poems; then later, she started writing simple one to two page stories. She’s always kept journals documenting her life and those of her children. Through every poem, story and journaled event, she never stopped looking for what she calls her ‘Charmed’ book. Year after year the book never came, until the summer of 2013, when a two to three page idea max, turned into ten then twenty pages and kept growing from there. It became clear within a very short time, her characters had much more to say and their story was far from over. And that’s how ‘The Chat Room’ was born. Eighteen months and a lifetime later, her dream finally became a reality in August 2015. There’s a saying she’s created as a part of her daily mantra; “Never stop looking for your happy ending, because your story isn’t finished yet…

Coffee House Poets. Live Write Page / Facebook / Twitter / Amazon

Elias Raven 

Elias Raven was born and raised in Los Angeles. He’s an avid reader with a lifelong passion for writing. He’s a storyteller, a poet and a talented musician with an amazing voice. Oh, and let’s not forget an amazing cook!

As a young boy he spent many summers reading classics such as “The Adventures of Sherlock Homes” and “The White Company” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. His creativity was constantly being pushed as he learned more and more about the world around him. His taste in literature spanned from classics to science fiction/fantasy. He expanded his taste devouring everything from William Blake to Milton, Dante, Baudelaire, Arthur Rimbaud, T.S. Elliot, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Khalil Gibran, William Carlos Williams, Ezra Pound, Paul Verlaine, Walt Whitman, Alan Ginsburg, Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs, Carl Sandburg, Dylan Thomas, and Jim Morrison. These inspirations and his sheer love for reading had him take pen to paper around the age of 20.

Did I mention he’s a Musician? …You can often find him playing his guitars (both electric and acoustic) and keyboards and singing (4 octave ranges) in his home studio. He’s a classically trained music aficionado -trained early on by Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Hayden, Liszt, as well as Big Band, Jazz and Rag Time. Spending time with his father at the Los Angeles Philharmonic; experiencing his first orchestra concert at the age of 9.

Elias the Gourmet Cook…Oh My!…His Japanese mother and grandmother trained him very well in fine culinary skills both in cooking and food appreciation from all over the world such as Italian, Indian, Moroccan, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Hawaiian, Pilipino, Greek, and Polish.

When Elias is not reading, writing, composing music or cooking…he can be found listening to music, playing games, hanging out with his kids. He enjoys going to concerts, going on culinary adventures, sightseeing, spending the day at the beach or in the mountains…just doing something adventurous!

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